


Conversation, One and One

by lycomingst



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-24
Updated: 2010-03-24
Packaged: 2017-10-08 07:19:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/74081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lycomingst/pseuds/lycomingst
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking place sometime while Giles and Anya ran the "Magic Box".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Conversation, One and One

**Conversation, One and One**

It was inventory night. Giles and Anya had fallen into a rhythm doing this paperwork. After closing the shop they brought out the account book, the receipts, the invoices and spread everything out on a table. Anya, picking up one of her half-dozen freshly sharpened pencils, began to go through the items, with a running commentary on the products.

"We're running low on sage...the Brazilian cobwebs haven't arrived, though they were promised two weeks ago. I suppose we could just go down to the basement and pick some up from the corners. Of course, there's the problem of packaging them, probably more trouble than it's worth... oh, I think we should run a sale on lotions, they take up a lot of room and they're not moving..."

After a half hour or so, Giles said, as he usually did, "Why don't I go get us something to eat?"

When he came back holding a bag which already had grease spots spreading across it, he said, "I've brought some burgers and soft drinks. Instead of the usual Cokes, I thought we should try the Mexican fruit drinks. The flavors seemed very enticing, tamarind, hibiscus. I bought lime, sort a trial run. And they're non-caffinated which means they won't keep you from sleeping."

Anya, who hadn't acknowledged his return, now looked up from her work. "I don't have trouble falling asleep. After Xander and I have sex, I am relaxed and..."

Giles held up a traffic cop hand and said, "Stop. No. Change the subject."

Anya hesitated for a second, then said, "I think I should get a bonus for selling all the left-over stock from the last owner of the store. It was my idea to make up mystery grab bags. We cleared the shelves of junk. And it was all profit."

"That seems reasonable," Giles said. "Shall we say 50% of the income for you and 50% for the shop?"

"70/30"

"60/40"

"Oh, all right," said Anya.

"Good. Now why don't you move the papers aside; I'll get some plates from the back and we can eat."

After he finished a few bites of his food, Giles said, "So what will you do with the unexpected bonus money? Invest it, squander it?"

"I have a nest egg. Xander says it's an important thing to have."

"It is," said Giles, "something for the future."

"Yes, yes, 'just in case'. It's so complicated being an ordinary human. Time runs out. You have to pick and chose; I don't know what I'll need or what I should have." Anya went on, "Like you, you're old. You know that you can't do things you used to do. Am I going to stop being able to make money? I like it, what if I can't do it any more?"

"I am not old!" Giles' voice sounded high and squeaky even to him. More calmly he said, "First of all, financial prowess isn't the kind of thing that declines quickly. Secondly, I am not old. One loses some physical, um, flexibility over time. But, for example, I train a Slayer. I have to be in good shape to do that."

Anya frowned. "But why do I have to put things off until the future? Xander and I should have a lot of money now. Don't you wish you had everything when you were young?

"All right, I'm going to completely ignore the insulting age jibe and say, everybody has things they dream about that don't happen. Or can't happen. For instance..."

Anya interrupted, "Are you going to tell me a boring story about your life?"

"Yes. In illustration," Giles said. "Once upon a time I used to be quite fond on those silly beach movies that Hollywood used to make. It was probably that I was in a very restricted environment with a good many expectations placed on me. Riding the waves on a surfboard looked to me to be the ultimate excitement and freedom."

"That's what I mean," Anya broke in, "you're in California, but you're not surfing. Because now you'd get all sunburned and you couldn't wear your glasses on a surfboard. You'd look silly in swim trunks...

Giles raised his voice over hers, "The point I'm trying to make is that I now longer want to surf. I have other desires." He went on, "Humans are meant to always want something out of reach. It doesn't matter so much, usually, what you wanted at one time. Who knows, there may come a time when counting dollars ceases to delight you."

Anya made a disbelieving sound in her throat.

"Now, let's finish our meal and the accounting. Xander will be here soon to pick you up. And I'd be grateful if you didn't mention the surfing movies to the others," Giles said.

"Oh, I don't remember what you say. Xander and I just talk about us."

"Yes, there's that. Indifference will do as well as discretion."

They ate the burgers, tallied the numbers and tidied up the papers. The Magic Box's unlikely partnership had completed another successful month in retail.

**The End**


End file.
